eBay

beatle-5613 · ‎02-14-2019

I had purchased a purse from a seller. When I received it, I immediately noticed the packaging and the purse smelled like cigarettes. She had also included hand written note saying she hand washed the interior before sending it and to excuse the "perfume" smell due to the dryer sheets she had put inside the purse. I also noticed that the interior now had a tacky residue all over from the dryer sheets. I contacted the seller after I opened the package letting her know this and she was surprised to hear of the cigarette smell and the tacky residue. After several messages back and forth, she agreed to do a return/refund (even though she doesn't accept returns/refund). She asked me to wait on sending the package back by 2 days, so she could be at home when the package was delivered. I agreed. I then opened a return, which I thought would give me a shipping label to send it back, but instead she said I opened a can of worms and that ebay had frozen the funds in her paypal account. That was not my intention, so I retracted it. (I'm still new to ebay, so I didn't know better). I sent the package on the day she asked, sent her the tracking # (I willingly paid for return shipping) and I have not heard from her since 2/4/19. I just emailed her again yesterday asking to let me know when she initiates the refund, but again, no word from her (the last message from her was the one about me opening the can of worms). So, now she has the purse back and my money. My question is, since I closed/retracted the return, will ebay help me recoup my money for the purse? That's all I want.

myangelandmyprincess · ‎02-14-2019

You did the right thing by opening a case. This would have given you a return label the seller would have had to pay for as well. You should not have closed the case. They freeze the funds to ensure the seller is held responsible for the refund. She sold something not as described her funds being on hold was not your fault or your problem. Since you closed the case you cannot reopen it with eBay. If you paid with PayPal you can file a not as described case with them and show you sent it back. If you paid with a credit card you can file a chargeback through them

“Birth certificates show that you were born. Death certificates show that you died. Photographs show that you have lived.” -Unknown

robot-hands · ‎02-15-2019

@beatle-5613 wrote:
My question is, since I closed/retracted the return, will ebay help me recoup my money for the purse?

Not a chance.

emerald_door · ‎02-15-2019

Some sellers will try to get buyers to close cases before the return and unfortunately, some buyers will do so because they're trying to be considerate of the seller. That leaves the buyer with no official recourse through eBay, although you could always try calling customer service because they can read the eBay messages exchanged with the seller. Fortunately, as stated above, you can still get a refund if you paid through PayPal.

cream_couture · ‎02-18-2019

You can ebay and provide them the tracking number where you sent the item back or you can open a case in Paypal.

beatle-5613 · ‎02-18-2019

Thank you for the response. I did contact PayPal and filed a dispute with them as I still have not gotten my refund nor has the seller contacted me. I provided them with the tracking # and they are currently awaiting her response.

I have learned my lesson about trying to be too nice and accommodating to others. Sad.

vanman1029 · ‎02-18-2019

A little off topic but I bought a bunch of items at an estate sale. The home owner must have been a heavy smoker because there was this orange sticky residue all over everything, the same that was in the purse(?), which was probably nicotine. It took many Lysol wipes along with a lot of elbow grease to get rid of that stuff. I can't image the damage nicotine does to a smoker's lungs!

no_zero369 · ‎02-18-2019

@beatle-5613 wrote:
Thank you for the response. I did contact PayPal and filed a dispute with them as I still have not gotten my refund nor has the seller contacted me. I provided them with the tracking # and they are currently awaiting her response.
I have learned my lesson about trying to be too nice and accommodating to others. Sad.

I am sorry you had a bad experience with a seller who imho should get sanctioned for such idiocy. It is really unfortunate that such things happen and I am sure it doesn't feel very great to experience that.

Another way to look at this is that often one needs to understand the "rules of the game" so that they don't do something that is counter productive. In this case you have learned about eBay procedures and will be more knowledgeable going forward and thankfully have other options you can follow to get your money back. [If you opened a case with PP that automatically prevents you from reopening a case with eBay. But go the PP route and spend the time to CALL PP CS and have the facts reviewed.]

It always breaks my heart to see buyers come here and complain after something like this has happened. Fortunately for you, you have found these boards and IF there is a "next time" you can come here BEFORE you do anything and get some great advice and avoid problems and follow eBay rules.

Hope the helpful advice one has received renews some of your faith! best wishes.